On CNN 's `` State of the Union , '' host and chief national correspondent John King goes outside the Beltway to report on the issues affecting communities across the country . This week , King traveled to Missouri to learn about the effects of cutbacks on an already struggling economy .

St. Louis , Missouri , is having to cut back on bus routes . This could devastate some of the area 's most vulnerable .

BALLWIN , Missouri -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- For Stuart and Dianne Falk , it is a two-bus , 45-minute trip into downtown St. Louis to head to the gym and to volunteer at a theater group .

And it is a lifeline that ends Friday .

`` To be saddled , to be imprisoned , that is what it is going to feel like , '' says Stuart Falk . `` It is going to feel like being punished for something we did n't do . ''

Stuart and Dianne Falk are both in wheelchairs . And the bus route that takes them downtown , and to one of the few tastes of personal freedom they have , is being eliminated because of a funding crunch .

In all , two dozen bus routes are being eliminated outright effective March 30 . Numerous other routes have been shortened or otherwise modified , including less frequent runs . Light rail service schedules also have been scaled back as part of an effort to close a $ 51 million funding shortfall . Watch the Falks ride bus that is about to be eliminated ''

The reasons for the funding crunch have little to do with President Obama , or the federal government at all for that matter . But there are several connections to the big national political debates of the past several months , stretching back to last fall .

It was then that St. Louis County voters were asked to vote in favor of a small tax increase to add funding for bus routes and other mass transit operations in the bedroom communities surrounding the city of St. Louis .

Backers were optimistic , but then saw the mood change as the struggles on Wall Street mounted , and dropping 401 -LRB- k -RRB- balances made voters more stingy . It did n't help , these backers contend , that anger at the first installment of the $ 700 billion Wall Street bailout also was festering on Election Day .

Now , St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley worries the cutbacks will have an adverse effect on an already struggling area economy .

`` The worse case scenario to me is this , if we don ¹ t get people to goods and services , that means businesses will close their doors , that means more jobs are lost , '' Dooley told us in an interview on a light rail platform in Clayton just outside the city .

Dooley also said mass transit cutbacks make it harder to attract new businesses .

`` We 're talking about economic development and entrepreneurship : Who is going to come to St. Louis if you can ¹ t get people back and forth to work ? '' Dooley said .

Efforts to get the state to help close the budget gap have failed . And while many of those affected see it is a perfect use of the federal stimulus funds the president says are meant to create and save jobs , such spending is not allowed .

Stimulus money can be used for new mass transit capital projects , such as building new stations or buying new buses . But the money can not be used for operational costs , meaning it can not be used to keep existing routes open .

`` No , I don ¹ t think that is right . Of course , that is not right , '' is Dooley 's view . `` I mean at the end of the day , it 's about creating jobs and opportunity . ... Could the stimulus bill be of a great help to us ? No question about it . ''

Without any cash infusion , Metro says it has no choice but to cut back from 9,125 bus stops to 6,801 , significantly cutting back its reach into the outer ring of St. Louis County .

Riding the buses this week offered a glimpse at the impact .

At one stop Wednesday , a handful of developmentally disabled passengers boarded outside a local facility where they work . One told CNN she optimistic `` something will get done about it '' but said she is n't sure how she is supposed to get around after Friday .

Kimberly Barge is a staff attorney at Paraquad , the gym where the Falks and other local disabled residents attend classes .

`` People are frustrated , angry -- almost to the point of hopeless in some cases because there are n't many other alternatives for the disability community as far as transportation goes , '' Barge told CNN .

Jean McPherson boarded the bus with her infant daughter . The 20-year-old is going back to school to get her high school diploma and though short on cash , she says she is now forced to explore buying a used car .

`` I might end up losing my job or not being able to take my daughter to day care , '' is how she sees the consequence of her bus route being shortened so that it no longer stretches out to her community . `` You ca n't afford a car ; that is why you use public transportation . So a lot of people are going to be in a bad situation . ''

And the impact goes beyond Metro riders . Some 200 drivers also are slated to lose their jobs

Shaking her head , Dianne Falk offers this analysis : `` That does n't seem like what -LRB- President -RRB- Obama wants . ''

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For some St. Louis area residents , loss of bus service would be devastating

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Paticularly hurt would be physcially handicapped and the working poor

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Stimulus money can be used to build projects but not operational costs

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Says disabled woman : `` That does n't seem like what -LRB- President -RRB- Obama wants ''